In hygienic facilities such as foodstuff factories, pharmaceutical product factories, hospitals, or the like, there is a problem in that there is the potential for incursion of airborne bacteria or adhesive bacteria into the room accompanying entry and exit of people and objects, where the adhesion and the growth of airborne bacteria and adhesive bacteria on wall surfaces or devices within the room may cause the room to become contaminated. The room becoming contaminated is a problem that may lead to decreased product quality, or, in the case of a foodstuff, food poisoning.
Conventionally this problem has often been handled through the use of a method wherein circulating air and outside air has been filtered through an air purifying filter before being blown into the room.
Additionally, as another method, there has been an air-conditioning system proposed wherein an ultraviolet radiation device and an antimicrobial spray device have been provided, as means for reducing bacteria in circulating ducts and air supply ducts, to not only perform ultraviolet sterilization of bacteria in the air, but also to spray the antimicrobial solution within the room so as to maintain an antimicrobial atmosphere (See Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2005-106296 (“JP '296”).
When air exchange is performed through blowing into the room air that has been filtered by an air cleaning filter, as described above, this consumes the transporting power of the air-conditioner. Conventionally, the reliable elimination of bacteria has been the priority, so operations have been performed with the airflow set on the high side so as to have a sufficient margin. In this case, even if the bacteria were actually reduced adequately, still the operation would have the high air flow, essentially resulting in waste of the transporting power. However, because variations in the number of bacteria do not increase or decrease in accordance with measurable causes, it has been difficult to set the flow rate to the low side in order to conserve the transporting power.
Additionally, even when bacteria reducing means, such as the air-conditioning system disclosed in JP '296, are used, when setting the blower flow, setting on the high side, with the emphasis on the reliable elimination of bacteria, has been unavoidable, even when aware of the waste of the transporting power.
The present invention was created in order to solve the problem set forth above, and the object thereof is to provide a blowing controlling device and method, in an air-conditioning system provided with bacteria reducing means, able to reduce the amount of air transporting power of blowing devices, and the like, for air-conditioning equipment for air exchange and for bacteria reducing equipment, in accordance with the degree of margin in the number of bacteria.